Associations between adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress among Swedish upper secondary school students
Johansson, Catrin ; Bador, Kourosh ; Kmety, Kandra ; Johansson, Emilia ; Olsson-Tall, Maivor ; Råstam, Maria LU
and Kerekes, Nóra
LU
(2024)
In Child Abuse and Neglect
158.
- Abstract
Background: The detrimental impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on health have been extensively studied, mainly focusing on the effects of ACEs on adults. However, there is a dearth of studies exploring their influences on adolescents. Objective: This study aims to investigate the associations between ACEs and psychological distress among Swedish adolescents. Participants and setting: At the end of 2020, 1561 Swedish adolescents (15–19-years-old) participated in an electronic survey. The survey encompassed questions about alcohol and drug use problems within the students' families, questions about the students' experiences of physical and psychological abuse, and the administration of the Brief Symptom Inventory to assess... (More)
Background: The detrimental impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on health have been extensively studied, mainly focusing on the effects of ACEs on adults. However, there is a dearth of studies exploring their influences on adolescents. Objective: This study aims to investigate the associations between ACEs and psychological distress among Swedish adolescents. Participants and setting: At the end of 2020, 1561 Swedish adolescents (15–19-years-old) participated in an electronic survey. The survey encompassed questions about alcohol and drug use problems within the students' families, questions about the students' experiences of physical and psychological abuse, and the administration of the Brief Symptom Inventory to assess their mental health. Methods: Descriptive and comparative non-parametric statistics were applied. Results: Nearly half of the study population reported experiencing one or more ACEs. Exposure to any ACE was significantly associated with a higher level of psychological distress. Of the ACEs examined, the experience of psychological abuse was the most substantial risk factor for psychological distress (with medium effect sizes of ε2 between 0.07 and 0.12 on each domain and a large effect size of ε2 = 0.14 on the General Severity Index scale). There was a positive correlation (r = 0.36) between the number of ACEs experienced and worsened mental health. Conclusions: The significant impacts of any ACE, the cumulative number of ACEs, and, particularly, psychological abuse on adolescent mental health are discussed. To further enhance the understanding of these associations and identify effective interventions to prevent and mitigate the negative impact of ACEs on mental health, additional research is warranted.
(Less)
- author
- Johansson, Catrin
; Bador, Kourosh
; Kmety, Kandra
; Johansson, Emilia
; Olsson-Tall, Maivor
; Råstam, Maria
LU
and Kerekes, Nóra
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Adolescents, Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), Brief symptom inventory (BSI), Psychological distress, Sweden
- in
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- volume
- 158
- article number
- 107089
- publisher
- Pergamon Press Ltd.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85206900016
- pmid:39442377
- ISSN
- 0145-2134
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107089
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2024
- id
- 242064e2-3cbc-4ac4-9ac6-4e1a5b029503
- date added to LUP
- 2024-11-26 16:18:41
- date last changed
- 2025-06-11 08:03:19
@article{242064e2-3cbc-4ac4-9ac6-4e1a5b029503,
abstract = {{<p>Background: The detrimental impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on health have been extensively studied, mainly focusing on the effects of ACEs on adults. However, there is a dearth of studies exploring their influences on adolescents. Objective: This study aims to investigate the associations between ACEs and psychological distress among Swedish adolescents. Participants and setting: At the end of 2020, 1561 Swedish adolescents (15–19-years-old) participated in an electronic survey. The survey encompassed questions about alcohol and drug use problems within the students' families, questions about the students' experiences of physical and psychological abuse, and the administration of the Brief Symptom Inventory to assess their mental health. Methods: Descriptive and comparative non-parametric statistics were applied. Results: Nearly half of the study population reported experiencing one or more ACEs. Exposure to any ACE was significantly associated with a higher level of psychological distress. Of the ACEs examined, the experience of psychological abuse was the most substantial risk factor for psychological distress (with medium effect sizes of ε<sup>2</sup> between 0.07 and 0.12 on each domain and a large effect size of ε<sup>2</sup> = 0.14 on the General Severity Index scale). There was a positive correlation (r = 0.36) between the number of ACEs experienced and worsened mental health. Conclusions: The significant impacts of any ACE, the cumulative number of ACEs, and, particularly, psychological abuse on adolescent mental health are discussed. To further enhance the understanding of these associations and identify effective interventions to prevent and mitigate the negative impact of ACEs on mental health, additional research is warranted.</p>}},
author = {{Johansson, Catrin and Bador, Kourosh and Kmety, Kandra and Johansson, Emilia and Olsson-Tall, Maivor and Råstam, Maria and Kerekes, Nóra}},
issn = {{0145-2134}},
keywords = {{Adolescents; Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); Brief symptom inventory (BSI); Psychological distress; Sweden}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Pergamon Press Ltd.}},
series = {{Child Abuse and Neglect}},
title = {{Associations between adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress among Swedish upper secondary school students}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107089}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107089}},
volume = {{158}},
year = {{2024}},
}